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Bradford D. Smart
EducationPhD in Industrial Psychology
Alma materUniversity of Purdue
Occupations
Known forOriginator of Topgrading
WebsiteCompany Website

Bradford D. "Brad" Smart is an American businessman, management consultant,[1] industrial psychologist, and author who is best known as the originator of topgrading.[2] He is the founder and CEO of Topgrading, Inc. (formerly Smart & Associates)[3][4] and has worked directly with hundreds of companies throughout his career, including General Electric, Barclays, Honeywell, the American Heart Association, and Lincoln Financial.[2][5][6] He and topgrading have been profiled in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal,[1][7] Fortune,[8][9] Chief Executive, and many others.[10]

Career

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Smart earned his PhD in industrial psychology from Purdue University in the early 1970s.[1][11] Smart entered the management consulting business in 1972 when he opened his consulting firm, Smart & Associates.[1] Although he had yet to coin the term "topgrading," Smart developed similar principles early on in his career.[8] He was interested in the methods companies used to hire people and how effective those methods were at producing high performers.[12] In the 1980s and 90s, Smart consulted directly with Jack Welch of General Electric (GE), advising him to enact a program for hiring and promoting employees that could identify the best candidates for a particular job. GE used the hiring methods devised by Smart throughout the 80s and the 90s and continues to use them to this day.[1][7][13] Smart also consulted with companies like Ameritech and AlliedSignal.[1]

Along with his son Geoff, Smart coined the term "topgrading" in 1997 in an article for Directors and Boards magazine. The article described the methodology that Smart had used to develop hiring practices at GE.[14] Two years later in 1999, Smart released Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching and Keeping the Best People, which went on to sell over 150,000 copies.[15] Smart released a second edition of the book in 2005[16] and a third edition in 2012,[12][17][18][19] the latter of which was a New York Times[20] and Wall Street Journal best seller.[21] The third edition contained a full 12-step process for applying the topgrading system.[17]

Smart changed the name of his consulting firm to Topgrading, Inc. in 2012.[3] The company offers training programs to teach client managers how to employ topgrading. It also conducts topgrading interviews directly, and offers a selection of software products to support the method.[22][23][24] Over the course of his career, he has consulted with a wide variety of companies and helped implement a topgrading program in many of them. He has consulted with companies and organizations like Lincoln Financial, Barclays, Honeywell, Hillenbrand Industries, Gateway, American Heart Association, and many more.[6][2][8][5][25]

Personal life

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With his wife Mary, Brad Smart has a son, Geoffrey (Geoff) Smart, and a daughter, Kathryn (Kate) Smart Mursau, both of whom have doctoral degrees in psychology. Geoff owns a management consulting firm called ghSmart & Co. that is based in Denver, Colorado.[2][26] The father and son duo coined the term "topgrading" in a 1997 article in Directors and Boards magazine.[14] Geoff has also written books on the subject, including Who: The A Method for Hiring,[27] and Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success.[28] Brad and his daughter Kate co-authored a parenting guide called Smart Parenting: How To Raise Happy, Can-Do Kids in 2006.[26]

Selected bibliography

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Non-fiction

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  • The Smart Interviewer: Tools and Techniques for Hiring the Best (1990)
  • Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching and Keeping the Best People (1999)
  • Topgrading (How To Hire, Coach and Keep A Players) (2005)
  • Topgrading for Sales: World-class Methods to Interview, Hire, and Coach Top Sales Representatives (2008)
  • Topgrading, 3rd Edition: The Proven Hiring and Promoting Method That Turbocharges Company Performance (2012)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Naj, Amal Kumar (29 August 1994). "Corporate Therapy: The Latest Addition To Executive Suite Is Psychologist's Couch" (PDF). The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d Rafter, Michelle V. (10 March 2008). "Get Your 'A' Players Here". Workforce Management. Retrieved 21 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ a b Smart, Brad (9 August 2012). "How to Make the Right Hires: Author of 'Topgrading'". CNBC. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  4. ^ Cortez, Samantha (6 September 2012). "5 Proven Hiring Tips From A Top Recruiting Firm". Business Insider. Retrieved 21 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b Smart, Bradford D. (January 2008). "The high cost of mis-hires: Five steps to better hiring" (PDF). Paper 360. Retrieved 21 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ a b Smart, Bradford D. (10 September 2008). "Topgrading: How to Hire High-Performing Maintenance Personnel" (PDF). DOM Magazine. Retrieved 20 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ a b Kwoh, Leslie (31 January 2012). "'Rank and Yank' Retains Vocal Fans". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  8. ^ a b c Charan, Ram; Colvin, Geoffrey (21 June 1999). "Looking to Hire the Very Best? Ask the Right Questions. Lots of Them" (PDF). Fortune. Retrieved 21 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Gilman, Hank (10 July 2000). "The Smart Way to Hire Superstars Tired of the same old "C" employees dragging down your company? How do you recruit only the cream of the crop? We asked one "A" player who knows". Fortune. Retrieved 21 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ Stoddard, Nat; Wyckoff, Claire (12 December 2008). "The Costs of CEO Failure". Chief Executive. Retrieved 21 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Smart, Brad (2012). "B Players are NOT Good Enough". Gazelles International Coaches. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  12. ^ a b Smart, Brad (31 July 2013). "Topgrading: The Proven Hiring Method" (Interview). Interviewed by Jim Lobaito. Retrieved 21 August 2015. {{cite interview}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |city= and |call-sign= (help); Unknown parameter |program= ignored (help)
  13. ^ Lauer, Chris (31 July 2008). The Management Gurus: Lessons from the Best Management Books of All Time. Portfolio.
  14. ^ a b Smart, Brad; Smart, Geoff (1997). "Topgrading the organization" (PDF). Directors and Boards. Retrieved 21 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Board, Douglas (11 July 2013). "In defence of Topgrading: 'Hiring the right people takes time'". Financial Times. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  16. ^ Morris, Robert (31 August 2010). "Book review: Topgrading". Examiner.com.
  17. ^ a b Smart, Bradford D. (2012). Topgrading, 3rd Edition: The Proven Hiring and Promoting Method That Turbocharges Company Performance. Portfolio. ISBN 978-1591845263.
  18. ^ Eifler, Andrew (25 August 2013). "The Topgrading Interview Method". Andrew Eifler. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  19. ^ "How to Nail the Interview -- When You're the Interviewer". Forbes. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ "Hardcover Advice & Misc". The New York Times. 2 September 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  21. ^ "Best-Selling Books, Week Ended Aug. 19". The Wall Street Journal. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  22. ^ Tanner, Erin (23 October 2014). "Getting to Know Topgrading". Digital Net Agency. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  23. ^ "Brad Smart, Author of Topgrading". Chequed. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  24. ^ "Recruiter 101: What is Topgrading?". Greenhouse Blog. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  25. ^ Smart, Brad (September 2002). "Flushing Out the C Players" (PDF). Across the Board. Retrieved 21 August 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ a b "Smart Parenting: How To Raise Happy, Can-Do Kids". www.amazon.com. Amazon. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  27. ^ Fornes, Don (25 October 2013). "Put "The A Method for Hiring" to Work". New Talent Times. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  28. ^ "Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success". www.amazon.com. Amazon. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
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